On my post about the CoStar/LoopNet changes, David asked what should an agent or brokerage do? Good question. What you should do depends on a lot of things. Do you need a data provider, a marketing platform or both? Can you afford to pay the subscription fees or the time it will take to research, collect and/or market on your own?
DATA PROVIDERS
CoStar arguably has the most comprehensive database of properties, listings, and comps. How good that data is depends on your market. I’ve long … [Read More...]

This round of new apps aren't made for commercial real estate but I think some of you will find them useful. And CRE app developers should take note of some of the features, design and overall ease of use of these apps. I mean, there's no reason apps have to be complicated. Or ugly.
Tribe
There’s a new breed of task management and collaboration tools that are not CRE specific but can work as well – or even better - for brokerages. One such app is Tribe which has the distinction of having an … [Read More...]

For anyone in the Commercial Real Estate market, LinkedIn is a must. It's the place to be online for building connections, and networking with others in the industry and prospective tenants or investors.
LinkedIn's tools allow users to easily follow-up with ex-colleagues, share presentations, join industry-related groups, and publish content to a network of captive prospects.
In short, it's an ideal place for anyone in the business world, whether it's to build new relationships, research … [Read More...]

A lot of CRE tech types claim that 2016 will be a big year for CRE technology adoption. I’m not sure what that means since I don’t know any agent or brokerage that doesn’t use technology already in their work or within their company. I suspect it means that everyone will upgrade whatever it is they’re using. Get their acts together or whatever.
That may be true in major markets. They have little choice since they’re working with a level of clients who are demanding more data for better … [Read More...]

Just when you think CRE tech is getting boring (or is it just me?), something comes along to rekindle some excitement. That something is Automated Insights, a company that’s been generating stories from data for the past few years using Wordsmith. Yes, I’m talking about artificial intelligence.
Used by major companies like Yahoo and Associated Press, it takes the pain out of writing standard format articles or reports like company earnings, sports scores, performance reviews and more. And … [Read More...]

As the office Christmas party approaches, I can look forward to several agents shoving their cell phones in my face asking me to fix something. (Just for the record, 99 times out of 100 it’s either user error or an OS upgrade that caused the problem.)
Welcome to the real world of CRE tech. Unlike the online world where new apps are greeted with excitement and people write about the future of CRE and other weighty tech topics, offline it’s a daily grind of making sure things work and that … [Read More...]

According to a Twitter poll by QuantumListings, 81% of the agents who responded said they don’t use mobile CRE apps at all. So the thinking is that there’s a big opportunity for developers to create CRE specific mobile apps.
To be sure, there aren't a lot of CRE specific apps. Some are standalone like calculators or measuring tools. Most of them, however, are a mobile appendage for a CRE specific subscription or app - like LoopNet, CoStar, cloud CRM or transaction management apps. What’s … [Read More...]